Method and apparatus for delivering goods by collaboration of autonomous vehicles

ABSTRACT

Provided is a method for delivering goods in collaboration of a plurality of autonomous vehicles including a master vehicle and one or more slave vehicles. The method comprises calculating, by the master vehicle among the plurality of autonomous vehicles, a floor area required for unloading the goods based on a size of the goods, searching and determining, by the master vehicle, a region providing a flat area greater than or equal to the floor area as a goods handing over point, providing, by the master vehicle, position information of the goods handing over point to the one or more slave vehicles so that the one or more slave vehicles are gathered to the goods handing over point, providing, by the master vehicle, the position information of the goods handing over point to an unmanned aerial vehicle so that the unmanned aerial vehicle moves to the goods handing over point, determining, by the master vehicle, a portion of the goods to be supported by each autonomous vehicle based on a size of delivery target goods, moving, by each autonomous vehicle located at the goods handing over point, to a position corresponding to the determined portion, taking over the goods from the unmanned aerial vehicle and loading them together by collaborating with each autonomous vehicle at the moved position, and delivering the loaded goods to a destination by the plurality of autonomous vehicles.

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No.10-2021-0028671, filed on Mar. 4, 2021, in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for deliveringgoods through collaboration of an autonomous driving mobile object. Moreparticularly, it relates to a method and apparatus for delivering goodstook over from an unmanned aerial vehicle for delivery to a deliverydestination in collaboration with a plurality of autonomous drivingmobile objects such as an autonomous driving robot and an autonomousvehicle.

2. Description of the Related Art

Today, unmanned aerial vehicles such as drones are being used in variousfields. For example, unmanned aerial vehicles are being used in thebroadcasting field, agriculture field, military field, and the like.Furthermore, technology for delivering goods using unmanned aerialvehicles is also currently being developed. For example, research isbeing conducted on a service, in which an unmanned aerial vehicle loadsand delivers goods to a designated place. Using such an unmanned aerialvehicle for delivery not only saves labor costs, but also enables rapiddelivery of goods to areas where vehicles are difficult to move, such asmountainous areas and islands.

In addition, research, in which a ground robot takes over the goods fromthe unmanned aerial vehicle and delivers the goods to a designateddelivery destination, is also being conducted. That is, research for anunmanned delivery system, in which an unmanned aerial vehicle unloadsgoods with a ground robot, and the ground robot delivers the unloadedgoods to a designated delivery destination, thereby not requiring anymanpower, is actively conducting.

However, the existing unmanned delivery system does not consider thedelivery of heavy or bulky goods. That is, the existing unmanneddelivery system only considers delivery of light-weighted goods, anddoes not consider delivery of goods having a weight exceeding theloading capacity of the ground robot.

SUMMARY

A technical problem to be solved by the present disclosure is to providea goods delivery method and apparatus capable of loading heavy goods anddelivering them to a destination through collaboration with a pluralityof autonomous vehicles.

Another technical problem to be solved by the present disclosure is toprovide a goods delivery method and apparatus, in which a plurality ofautonomous vehicles stably load goods at a position of a goods portionthat they in charge of and deliver them.

Another technical problem to be solved by the present disclosure is toprovide a goods delivery method and apparatus for maintaining anequilibrium state of goods despite a difference in road gradient orground elevation.

The technical problems of the present disclosure are not limited to thetechnical problems mentioned above, and other technical problems notmentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art fromthe following description.

According to an embodiment, a method for delivering goods incollaboration of a plurality of autonomous vehicles including a mastervehicle and one or more slave vehicles may include calculating by themaster vehicle among the plurality of autonomous vehicles, a floor arearequired for unloading the goods based on a size of the goods, searchingand determining, by the master vehicle, a region providing a flat areagreater than or equal to the floor area as a goods handing over point,providing, by the master vehicle, position information of the goodshanding over point to the one or more slave vehicles so that the one ormore slave vehicles are gathered to the goods handing over point,providing, by the master vehicle, the position information of the goodshanding over point to an unmanned aerial vehicle so that the unmannedaerial vehicle moves to the goods handing over point, determining, bythe master vehicle, a portion of the goods to be supported by eachautonomous vehicle based on a size of delivery target goods, moving, byeach autonomous vehicle located at the goods handing over point, to aposition corresponding to the determined portion, taking over the goodsfrom the unmanned aerial vehicle and loading them together bycollaborating with each autonomous vehicle at the moved position, anddelivering the loaded goods to a destination by the plurality ofautonomous vehicles.

According to an embodiment, wherein moving, by each autonomous vehicle,to a position corresponding to the determined portion may includemoving, by the slave vehicle, based on the position information on thegoods handing over point, wherein taking over the goods and loading themtogether may include taking over the goods from the unmanned aerialvehicle at a position corresponding to the determined portion by each ofthe slave vehicle and the master vehicle.

According to an embodiment, wherein determining the portion of the goodsto be supported may include determining, by the master vehicle, aportion of the goods to be supported by each of the master vehicle andthe slave vehicle based on a size of the goods, and providing, by themaster vehicle, position information on the portion of the goods to besupported by the slave vehicle to the slave vehicle.

According to an embodiment, wherein the plurality of autonomous vehiclesmay include a lifter capable of raising and lowering, wherein deliveringthe loaded goods may include loading the goods onto the lifter andraising them by each autonomous vehicle.

According to an embodiment, wherein delivering the loaded goods mayinclude, determining a difference in elevation of a ground, on whicheach of the autonomous vehicles is located, while the plurality ofautonomous vehicles are moving, and raising the lifter by an autonomousvehicle located on a relatively low ground to maintain equilibrium ofthe goods, or lowering the lifter by an autonomous vehicle located on arelatively high ground to maintain equilibrium of the goods.

According to another embodiment, an autonomous vehicle may include, adriving unit for moving the autonomous vehicle; a goods loading unit, inwhich goods took over from an unmanned aerial vehicle are seated, and acontrol unit, wherein the control unit, calculates a floor area requiredfor unloading the goods based on a size of the goods, searches anddetermines a region providing a flat area greater than or equal to thefloor area as a goods handing over point, controls to provide positioninformation of the goods handing over point to one or more otherautonomous vehicles so that the one or more other autonomous vehiclesare gathered to the goods handing over point, controls to provide theposition information of the goods handing over point to the unmannedaerial vehicle so that the unmanned aerial vehicle moves to the goodshanding over point, determines a portion of the goods to be supported bythe one or more other autonomous vehicles and the autonomous vehiclebased on a size of the goods, controls to provide information on thedetermined portion to the one or more other autonomous vehicles so thatthe other autonomous vehicle located at the goods handing over pointmoves to a position corresponding to the determined portion, controlsthe driving unit to move the autonomous vehicle to a portion of thegoods to be supported by the autonomous vehicle, and then controls theautonomous vehicle to collaborate with the one or more other autonomousvehicles at the moved position to take over the goods from the unmannedaerial vehicle to load them in the goods loading unit, and controls theautonomous vehicle to collaborate with the one or more other autonomousvehicles to deliver the loaded goods to a destination.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a delivery systemaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a front view of an unmanned aerial vehicle referenced in someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a state, in which the unmanned aerialvehicle of FIG. 2 releases the gripping of the goods;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of delivering goods incollaboration with a plurality of autonomous vehicles according toanother embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a plurality of autonomous vehiclesmoving toward a designated position to take over goods;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for describing in more detail some operations ofthe goods delivery method that may be understood with reference to FIG.4;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for describing in more detail some operations ofthe goods delivery method that may be understood with reference to FIG.4;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an autonomous vehicle according toanother embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method of delivering goods incollaboration with a plurality of autonomous vehicles according toanother embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an approach route of an autonomousvehicle that may be understood with reference to FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a view illustrating a state in which a plurality ofautonomous vehicles, which may be understood with reference to FIG. 9,load goods;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart for describing in more detail some operations ofthe goods delivery method that may be understood with reference to FIG.9; and

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of an autonomous vehicle according to anotherembodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be describedwith reference to the attached drawings. Advantages and features of thepresent disclosure and methods of accomplishing the same may beunderstood more readily by reference to the following detaileddescription of embodiments and the accompanying drawings. The presentdisclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and shouldnot be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein.Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will bethorough and complete and will fully convey the concept of thedisclosure to those skilled in the art, and the present disclosure willonly be defined by the appended claims.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms used in the present specification(including technical and scientific terms) may be used in a sense thatcan be commonly understood by those skilled in the art. In addition, theterms defined in the commonly used dictionaries are not ideally orexcessively interpreted unless they are specifically defined clearly.The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure.In this specification, the singular also includes the plural unlessspecifically stated otherwise in the phrase.

The terms “autonomous driving mobile object” and “autonomous vehicle”are used interchangeably throughout this specification and the drawings.In addition, the terms “master mobile object” and “master vehicle” andthe terms “slave mobile object” and “slave vehicle” are usedinterchangeably.

Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present disclosure will bedescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a delivery systemaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 1, the delivery system according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure may include an unmanned aerial vehicle 100, aplurality of autonomous driving mobile objects, or autonomous vehicles,200-N, and a control server 400, and each of these components maycommunicate with each other via the network 300. The network 300includes a mobile communication network and a wired communicationnetwork, and may support communication between the unmanned aerialvehicle 100 or the autonomous vehicle 200-N and the control server 400.

The control server 400 is a server that controls the unmanned aerialvehicle 100 and the autonomous vehicle 200-N, and may provide deliveryinformation including an unloading place, delivery destinationinformation, weight of the goods 10, volume and shape of the goods 10,etc. to the unmanned aerial vehicle 100. Also, the control server 400may provide the delivery information to the autonomous vehicle 200-N.The control server 400 may receive the position information from theunmanned aerial vehicle 100 or the autonomous vehicle 200-N, and monitorwhether the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 or the autonomous driving mobilevehicle 200-N is moving to a designated position. In addition, thecontrol server 400 may designate a plurality of autonomous vehicles200-N for unloading goods of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100. That is,the control server 400 may select a plurality of autonomous vehicles200-N for taking over the goods 10 of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100from among multiple autonomous vehicles, and provide the deliveryinformation to the selected plurality of autonomous vehicles 200-N.

The unmanned aerial vehicle 100 is a flying device that delivers thegoods 10 to a designated unloading place, has one or more thrustgenerating means such as a propeller, and can fly in the air using thethrust generating means. The unmanned aerial vehicle 100 mayautonomously fly to an unloading place, and may land or fly in placewhen arriving at the unloading place. In some embodiments, the unmannedaerial vehicle 100 may receive position information of a goods handingover point from a master mobile object, or a master vehicle, amongautonomous vehicles, and move to the goods handing over point based onthe position information. Here, the unloading place may be positioninformation, at which the goods are unloaded on the ground or theplatform, and the goods handing over point may be a position where thegoods are handed over to the plurality of autonomous vehicles 200-N. Theunloading place may be determined by the control server 400, and thegoods handing over point may be determined by the master vehicle asdescribed below.

As the autonomous flight method of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100, aknown technology may be used. The unmanned aerial vehicle 100 isprovided with gripping members 112 and 113 capable of gripping the goods10 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and may operate to the unloading place orthe goods handing over point while gripping the goods 10 using thegripping members 112 and 113. In the present embodiment, the grippingmembers 112 and 113 may also serve as a landing gear when landing. Whenthe unmanned aerial vehicle 100 moves to a goods handing over point, thegoods 10 may be unloaded into the plurality of goods loading units 210-Nin the air. At this time, when the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 receivesthe unloading request signal from the autonomous vehicle 200-N, it mayrelease the gripping state of the goods 10 to unload the goods 10 intothe plurality of goods loading units 210-N. In another embodiment, theunmanned aerial vehicle 100 may unload the goods 10 at an unloadingplace. The unloading place may be a ground or a landing platform.

The autonomous vehicle 200-N is a device that delivers the goods 10 to adesignated destination using a driving means such as wheels and legs,and may include an autonomous driving vehicle, an autonomous drivingrobot, and the like. The autonomous vehicle 200-N includes a goodsloading unit 210-N, in which the goods 10 is unloaded. The autonomousvehicle 200-N may perform short-range wireless communication with theunmanned aerial vehicle 100.

According to this embodiment, after recognizing the goods 10 or theunmanned aerial vehicle 100, the autonomous vehicle 200-N mayautonomously drive to the position of the goods 10 in order to take overthe goods 10. In an embodiment, the number of autonomous vehicles 200-Nfor loading the goods 10 is determined based on one or more of the size,shape, and volume of the goods 10, and the autonomous vehicles 200-Ncorresponding to the determined number may move to the position of thegoods 10. In addition, the portion of the goods to be supported by eachautonomous vehicle 200-N is determined, and each autonomous vehicle200-N may move to a portion that they in charge of, and then a pluralityof autonomous vehicles 200-N at the corresponding position maycollaborate with each other to load the goods 10 together. In addition,the plurality of autonomous vehicles 200-N may move to a deliverydestination together at a uniform speed to deliver the loaded goods 10to a delivery destination.

According to the present embodiment, a plurality of autonomous vehicles200-N collaborate to load and deliver the heavy goods 10, so that aneffect of enabling to deliver even the heavy goods 10 can be yielded.

Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of the unmanned aerialvehicle 100 applied to some embodiments of the present disclosure willbe described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

FIG. 2 is a front view of an unmanned aerial vehicle referenced in someembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a state, in which the unmanned aerialvehicle of FIG. 2 releases the gripping of the goods.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 referencedin some embodiments of the present disclosure includes a plurality ofpropellers 111-n as means for generating thrust, and a gripping member112, 113 for gripping the goods.

The plurality of propellers 111-n are rotated according to the controlto levitate the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 in the air.

The gripping members 112, 113 grip the goods 10. As shown in FIGS. 2 to3, the gripping members 112 and 113 are symmetrically formed on bothsides, and an internal space capable of accommodating the goods 10 maybe provided therein. In addition, the gripping members 112 and 113 mayinclude pressing members 112 a and 113 a for gripping the goods 10 bypressing the goods 10 with a constant force on the inner surfacethereof. The pressing members 112 a and 113 a may have a predeterminedlength.

The pressing members 112 a and 113 a press the goods 10 toward the innersurface when gripping the goods, and when releasing the gripping ofgoods and unloading them, they move to the outer surface to release thepressing force applied in the direction of the goods 10. As illustratedin FIG. 3, when the pressing members 112 a and 113 a move to the outersurface, the gripping state of the goods 10 a is released, so that thegoods 10 b falls downward.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of delivering goods incollaboration with a plurality of autonomous vehicles according toanother embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 4, one or more autonomous vehicles 200-N may recognizethe unmanned aerial vehicle 100 for taking over the goods 10 (S101). Inone embodiment, the autonomous vehicle 200-N receives and storesidentification information of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 forunloading goods from the control server 400 in advance, and maydetermine that the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 for taking over the goods10 is recognized when the identification information detected throughshort-range wireless communication matches the identificationinformation of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 that is being stored. Asanother embodiment, the autonomous vehicle 200-N may photograph thesurroundings using a camera, and analyze the photographed image torecognize the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 existing in the vicinity.

Subsequently, the autonomous vehicle 200-N may form a short-rangewireless session with the recognized unmanned aerial vehicle 100 (S103).Next, the autonomous vehicle 200-N may receive various data required forgoods delivery and unloading from the unmanned aerial vehicle 100, withwhich a short-range wireless session is formed (S105). For example, theautonomous vehicle 200-N may receive delivery information includingdelivery destination information, unloading place information, and thesize, weight, shape, etc. of the goods 10 from the unmanned aerialvehicle 100, and may also receive one or more of position data (e.g.,GNSS coordinates), altitude data, and posture data of the unmannedaerial vehicle 100 from the unmanned aerial vehicle 100. The posturedata may include yaw, roll, and pitch of the unmanned aerial vehicle100.

Based on at least one of the size, weight, and shape of the goods 10,the number of autonomous vehicles 200-N that load and deliver the goods10 may be determined (S107). In an embodiment, an autonomous vehicle,set as a master (hereinafter referred to as a ‘master mobile object’ ora ‘master vehicle’) among the plurality of autonomous vehicles 200-N maydetermine the number of autonomous vehicles 200-N based on at least oneof the size, weight, and shape of the goods 10. The master vehicle maybe selected by the control server 400, or the autonomous vehicle 200-Nthat first recognizes the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 among theplurality of autonomous vehicles 200-N may be selected as the mastervehicle. Among the plurality of autonomous vehicles 200-N, autonomousvehicles excluding the master vehicle are set as slaves. As anotherembodiment, the control server 400 may determine the number ofautonomous vehicles 200-N based on at least one of the size, weight, andshape of the goods 10. The allowable loading amount and loading size ofeach autonomous vehicle 200-N are predefined. The loading amount/loadingsize of each autonomous vehicle 200-N is compared with the weight/sizeof the goods 10, and the number of autonomous vehicles 200-N for loadingand delivering the goods 10 may be determined.

A plurality of autonomous vehicles 200-N corresponding to the numberdetermined by the master vehicle or the control server 400 may beselected. Next, the selected plurality of autonomous vehicles 200-N maybe moved to an unloading place or a goods handing over point (S109).Here, the goods handing over point may indicate a position, at which theplurality of autonomous vehicles 200-N take over the goods from theunmanned aerial vehicle 100. In addition, the unloading place mayindicate a position of the ground or platform, on which the goods areseated. As will be described later with reference to FIG. 6, the mastervehicle may search for a goods handing over point and provide it to eachof the autonomous vehicle set as a slave (hereinafter referred to as a‘slave mobile object’ or a ‘slave vehicle’) and the unmanned aerialvehicle 100.

Next, a portion of the goods 10 to be supported by each of the selectedautonomous vehicles 200-N may be determined (S111). In an embodiment,the master vehicle may image recognize a goods through a camera, andanalyze the image of the image recognized goods to determine a portionof the goods 10 to be supported by each autonomous vehicle 200-N. Asanother embodiment, based on the size of the goods 10 included in thedelivery information received from the control server 400 or theunmanned aerial vehicle 100, the master vehicle may determine a portionof the goods 10 to be supported by each autonomous vehicle 200-N. Asanother embodiment, the control server 400 may determine the portion ofthe goods 10 to be supported by each autonomous vehicle 200-N based onthe size of the goods 10, and transmit it to each autonomous vehicle200-N. The supported portion of the goods 10 may include a cornerportion of the lower surface of the goods 10. In one embodiment, thecontrol server 400 or the master vehicle may first determine thesupported portion so that the portion including the corner of the lowersurface of the goods 10 can be supported first, and determine thesupported portion located between the corners based on the number of theautonomous vehicles 200-N.

Next, the plurality of autonomous vehicles 200-N selected for goodsdelivery may move to positions corresponding to the determined portions(S113). That is, each autonomous vehicle 200-N may move to an unloadingplace or a goods handing over point, and then move to a positioncorresponding to the determined portion. Here, the positioncorresponding to the position of the goods 10 may be a positionimmediately under the portion of the goods 10. In one embodiment, themaster vehicle may move to the unloading place, measure a position(e.g., GNSS coordinates) corresponding to each of the determinedsupported portions in advance, and provide position information on thegoods portion to be supported by the slave vehicle to the slave vehicle.The master vehicle may photograph an image of the goods 10 using acamera, analyze the photographed image to recognize the portion of thegoods to be supported by each autonomous vehicle 200-N, and then measurethe position information of each goods portion by moving under thecorresponding portion. The slave vehicle may move based on the receivedposition information, and may be arranged at a position corresponding tothe goods portion to be supported by the slave vehicle. In addition, themaster vehicle may move to a position corresponding to the goods portionto be supported by the master vehicle and be arranged.

When the plurality of autonomous vehicles 200-N are arranged atpositions for unloading goods, an unloading request signal may betransmitted to the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 (S115). In an embodiment,when the arrangement of the plurality of autonomous vehicles 200-N iscompleted, the master vehicle may transmit the unloading request signalto the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 through short-range wirelesscommunication.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a plurality of autonomous vehiclesmoving toward a designated position to take over goods.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, a plurality of autonomous vehicles 200-1,200-2, and 200-3 may move to positions corresponding to the designatedportions 10 a, 10 b, 10 c of the goods 10 and be arranged to take overthe goods 10 through collaboration. The goods portion may include acorner of goods 10. That is, the corners C1, C2, C3, and C4 of the goods10 on the entire surface of the goods may be supported by the autonomousvehicles 200-1 and 200-3, and accordingly, one or more autonomousvehicles 200-1 and 200-3 may be moved to positions corresponding to eachcorner C1, C2, C3, and C4 and arranged. In FIG. 5, it is illustratedthat the first autonomous vehicle 200-1 is moved and arranged at aposition capable of supporting the first portion 10 a including thefirst corner C1 and the second corner C2, and the third autonomousvehicle 200-3 is moved and arranged at a position capable of supportingthe third portion 10 c including the third corner C3 and the fourthcorner C4. In addition, in FIG. 5, the second autonomous vehicle 200-2is located between the first autonomous vehicle 200-1 and the thirdautonomous vehicle 200-3. An arrangement interval of each of theautonomous vehicles 200-1, 200-2, and 200-3 may be constant. That is,the distance between the first autonomous vehicle 200-1 and the secondautonomous vehicle 200-2 and the distance between the second autonomousvehicle 200-2 and the third autonomous vehicle 200-3 may be the same. Asshown in FIG. 5, when a plurality of autonomous vehicles 200-1, 200-2,and 200-3 are arranged under the goods 10, the load of the goods 10 isdispersed to the plurality of autonomous vehicles 200-N.

On the other hand, when the size of the goods 10 is larger, fourautonomous vehicles 200-N are selected to support different corners, andeach autonomous vehicle 200-N selected in this way may be arranged at aposition corresponding to a different corner. In addition, one or moreother autonomous vehicles 200-N may be arranged between the autonomousvehicles 200-N in charge of each corner. The arrangement interval andthe number of the autonomous vehicles 200-N may be determined based onone or more of the size, weight, and shape of the goods 10.

Referring back to FIG. 4, the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 receiving theunloading request signal may release the gripping state of the goods 10and drop the goods 10 in the air. In this case, the plurality ofautonomous vehicles 200-N may take over and load the goods 10 from theunmanned aerial vehicle 100 through the goods loading unit 210-N formedon the upper surface (S117).

The plurality of autonomous vehicles 200-N that have taken over thegoods may check the delivery destination information in the deliveryinformation, and deliver the goods 10 to a destination (i.e., deliverydestination) based on the delivery destination information (S119). Inthis case, the plurality of autonomous vehicles 200-N may autonomouslydrive at a uniform speed and move to a destination.

According to the present embodiment, it is possible to safely take overand load heavy goods by using the plurality of autonomous vehicles200-N.

With reference to FIG. 6, a method of moving to a goods handing overpoint (S109) will be described in detail.

The master vehicle may calculate a floor area required for unloading thegoods based on the size of the goods (S109-1). Next, the master vehiclemay search the surrounding space to determine a region providing a flatarea greater than or equal to the floor area as a goods handing overpoint (S109-2). In one embodiment, the master vehicle and the unmannedaerial vehicle 100 may share position information promised in advance,and after the master vehicle moves to the promised position, it maysearch a region providing a flat area greater than or equal to the floorarea at the moved place. After measuring a peripheral gradient using acamera, the master vehicle may determine a region providing a flat areagreater than or equal to the floor area as a goods handing over point.In another embodiment, the master vehicle may store 3D map data anddetermine a goods handing over point by searching for a region providinga flat area greater than or equal to the floor area by using topographicgradient data included in the 3D map data.

After the master vehicle locates at the searched goods handing overpoint, it may transmit the position information of the searched goodshanding over point to the slave vehicle, and the slave vehicle may moveto the goods handing over point based on the received positioninformation. (S109-3).

The master vehicle may transmit the position information of the searchedgoods handing over point to the unmanned aerial vehicle 100, and theunmanned aerial vehicle 100 may move to the searched goods handing overpoint based on the received position information (S109-4).

According to this embodiment, an unloadable goods handing over point issearched, and the goods 10 can be safely and reliably taken over fromthe unmanned aerial vehicle 100.

Referring to FIG. 7, a method of delivering goods to a destination(S119) will be described in detail.

A plurality of autonomous vehicles 200-N that take over and load thegoods 10 may generate a delivery route from the current position to thedestination, and autonomously drive to the destination based on thedelivery route (S119-1). In this case, the plurality of autonomousvehicles 200-N may autonomously drive uniformly at a preset speed.

One or more autonomous vehicles among the plurality of autonomousvehicles 200-N may determine a gradient on the delivery route (S119-2).In an embodiment, an autonomous vehicle arranged at the forefront amongthe plurality of autonomous vehicles 200-N may determine the gradient.In this case, the autonomous vehicle arranged at the forefront maydetermine the gradient by using the topographic gradient data includedin the 3D map data, or may determine the gradient based on sensing dataacquired through a gradient sensor or a gradient value acquired throughimage analysis. The autonomous vehicle arranged at the forefront maydetermine the gradient from the current position to a pointcorresponding to a predetermined distance.

Next, it is determined whether the determined gradient exceeds a presetthreshold value, and when it exceeds, it may be controlled so that thespeed of the plurality of autonomous vehicles 200-N is reduced (S119-3and S119-4). In one embodiment, when the determined gradient exceeds thethreshold value, the autonomous vehicle arranged at the forefront mayreduce its speed by a predetermined value, and transmit a messagerequesting a speed reduction to the remaining autonomous vehicles amongthe plurality of autonomous vehicles. In this case, the autonomousvehicle arranged at the forefront may transmit a message requesting aspeed reduction to the remaining autonomous vehicles using short-rangewireless communication. The autonomous vehicle 200-N receiving themessage reduces the speed by the predetermined value.

According to the present embodiment, it is possible to reduce the speedof autonomous vehicles when driving on a gradient road, therebypreventing a situation, in which goods fall from the goods loading unit210-N on a gradient road.

Hereinafter, an autonomous vehicle and a goods delivery method accordingto another embodiment of the present disclosure will be described withreference to FIGS. 8 to 12.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an autonomous vehicle according toanother embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 8, the autonomous vehicle 500 according to anotherembodiment of the present disclosure may include a goods loading unit510 capable of raising and lowering.

The goods loading unit 510 may include a lifter 511 capable of raisingand lowering, a hydraulic cylinder 512 for raising or lowering thelifter 511, and a pair of guide units 513 a and 513 b for guiding theraising and lowering of the lifter 511.

The lifter 511 may be coupled to the hydraulic cylinder 512 to be raisedor lowered together with the hydraulic cylinder 512. The lifter 511 mayhave a shape used in a forklift. The guide units 513 a and 513 b areformed to be upright, and may guide the lifter 511 to raise and lower.In addition, lower surfaces of the guide units 513 a and 513 b may becoupled to the hydraulic cylinder 512 to support the upright state ofthe hydraulic cylinder 512. The rear surfaces of the guide units 513 aand 513 b may be coupled to the autonomous vehicle 500.

The hydraulic cylinder 512 may raise or lower the lifter 511 accordingto hydraulic pressure supplied from a hydraulic pack (not shown in thefigure). When hydraulic pressure is supplied to the hydraulic cylinder512, the hydraulic cylinder 512 rises, and accordingly, the lifter 511coupled to the hydraulic cylinder 512 also rises. Conversely, when thehydraulic pressure is removed from the hydraulic cylinder 512, thehydraulic cylinder 512 is lowered, and accordingly, the lifter 511coupled with the hydraulic cylinder 512 is also lowered.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method of delivering goods incollaboration with a plurality of autonomous vehicles according toanother embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 9, one or more autonomous vehicles 500-N may receiveposition information of an unloading place where the goods 10 isunloaded (S201). In one embodiment, the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 maymove to an unloading place, unloads the gripped goods 10 on a landingplatform or a ground, and transmit position information (e.g., GNSScoordinates) of the unloaded goods to one or more autonomous vehicles500-N or the control server 400, and the autonomous vehicle 500-N mayreceive the position information of the goods, at which the goods 10 isunloaded, from the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 or the control server400.

Based on at least one of the size, weight, and shape of the goods 10,the number of autonomous vehicles 500-N for loading and delivering thegoods 10 may be determined (S203). In an embodiment, the master vehicleamong the plurality of autonomous vehicles 500-N may determine thenumber of the autonomous vehicles 500-N based on at least one of thesize, weight, and shape of the goods 10. As another embodiment, thecontrol server 400 may determine the number of autonomous vehicles 500-Nbased on at least one of the size, weight, and shape of the goods 10.

A plurality of autonomous vehicles 500-N corresponding to the determinednumber may be selected. Next, the selected plurality of autonomousvehicles 500-N may be moved to an unloading position (S205).Subsequently, a portion of the goods 10 to be supported by each of theselected autonomous vehicles 500-N may be determined (S207).

Next, the plurality of autonomous vehicles 500-N selected for goodsdelivery may move to positions corresponding to the determined supportedportions (S209). That is, each autonomous vehicle 500-N may move to anunloading position and then move to a position corresponding to thedetermined supported portion. In one embodiment, the master vehicle maymove to the unloading position, measure a position (e.g., GNSScoordinates) corresponding to each of the determined portions inadvance, and provide position information on the goods portion to besupported by the slave vehicle to the slave vehicle. The slave vehiclemay move based on the received position information to a positioncorresponding to the goods portion to be supported by it. In addition,the master vehicle may move to a position corresponding to the goodsportion to be supported by it.

Each autonomous vehicle 500-N may insert the lifter 511 between theground and the goods 10 in a state where the lifter 511 is not raised,thereby completing the movement to the corresponding portion.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an approach route of an autonomousvehicle that may be understood with reference to FIG. 9.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, each autonomous vehicle 500-N may be moved tosupport a portion including a corner of the goods 10. At this time, eachautonomous vehicle 500-N may complete the movement by inserting thelifter 511 between the ground and the goods 10 without raising thelifter 511.

The autonomous vehicle 500-N that completes the movement to thedetermined position may transmit a movement completion message to themaster mobile objet through short-range communication. When receivingthe movement completion message from the slave vehicle, the mastervehicle may transmit a loading start message to each slave vehicle.

The slave vehicle and the master vehicle that receive the loading startmessage simultaneously raise the lifter 511 to a predetermined height toload the goods 10 together (S211).

FIG. 11 is a view exemplifying a state, in which a plurality ofautonomous vehicles are loaded with goods 10, which can be understoodwith reference to FIG. 9. A plurality of autonomous vehicle may raisethe lifter 511 at a predetermined height to load the goods 10 together.

Next, the plurality of autonomous vehicles 500-N that have taken overthe goods may check the delivery destination position information in thedelivery information, and deliver the goods 10 to the destination (i.e.,delivery destination) based on the delivery destination positioninformation (S213). In this case, the plurality of autonomous vehicles500-N may autonomously drive at a uniform speed and move to adestination.

According to the present embodiment, even when the goods 10 are unloadedon the ground, heavy goods can be safely loaded and delivered using theplurality of autonomous vehicles 500-N.

With reference to FIG. 12, a method of delivering goods to a destination(S213) will be described in detail.

A plurality of autonomous vehicles 500-N that took over and loaded thegoods 10 may generate a delivery route from the current position to thedestination, and autonomously drive to the destination based on thedelivery route (S213-1). In this case, the plurality of autonomousvehicles 500-N may autonomously drive uniformly at a preset speed.

Each autonomous vehicle 500-N may determine a difference in elevation ofthe ground at its current position while it is moving (S213-2). In anembodiment, each autonomous vehicle 500-N may measure the height of theground at the current position and share the measured height of theground with each other through short-range communication. The autonomousvehicle 500-N may determine the difference in elevation of the ground bycomparing the height of the ground, on which it is located and theheight of the ground of the other autonomous vehicle.

Next, it is checked whether the determined elevation difference deviatesfrom the allowable range (S213-3), and when it is deviated, theautonomous vehicle 500-N located on the relatively low ground may raiseits lifter 511 so that the equilibrium state of the goods 10 ismaintained (S213-4). As another embodiment, when the determinedelevation difference deviates from the allowable range, the autonomousvehicle 500-N located on the relatively high ground may lower its lifter511 so that the equilibrium state of the goods 10 is maintained.

According to this embodiment, by controlling the height of the lifter511 of the autonomous vehicles when driving on a gradient road, it ispossible to prevent a situation, in which goods fall from the autonomousvehicle 500-N on a gradient road.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of an autonomous vehicle according to anotherembodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 13, the autonomous vehicle 600 may include a sensingunit 610, a storage unit 620, a wireless communication unit 630, adriving unit 640, a satellite signal receiving unit 660 and a controlunit 650, and these components may be implemented as hardware orsoftware, or may be implemented through a combination of hardware andsoftware.

The storage unit 620 is a storage means such as a memory and a diskdevice, and stores various data required for the operation of theautonomous vehicle 600. Also, the storage unit 620 may store 3D map dataincluding topographic gradient data.

The wireless communication unit 630 may perform wireless communicationwith each of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 and the control server 400.The wireless communication unit 630 may include a first communicationmodule 631 and a second communication module 632 that perform wirelesscommunication through different protocols.

The first communication module 631 may communicate with the controlserver 400 and the like using a mobile communication network included inthe network 300.

The second communication module 632 may perform wireless communicationwith each of the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 and other autonomousvehicles using short-range wireless communication. As the short-rangewireless communication, protocols such as Wi-Fi, Zigbee, and Bluetoothmay be used.

The satellite signal receiving unit 660 may receive a plurality ofsatellite signals (aka, GPS signals) used for GNSS-based positionmeasurement.

The sensing unit 610 may collect various data necessary for autonomousdriving. To this end, the sensing unit 610 may include various sensorssuch as a camera and a gradient sensor or an image capturing device. Thesensing unit 610 may photograph a surrounding image using a camera.Also, the sensing unit 610 may measure the gradient at the currentposition using the gradient sensor. The gradient sensor may be installedin a goods loading box.

The driving unit 640 includes moving means such as legs and wheels, andmoves the autonomous vehicle 600 to a designated position or direction.The driving speed and direction of the driving unit 640 may becontrolled according to the control of the control unit 650. The drivingunit 640 may be controlled to be in a stopped state without being drivenwhen the autonomous vehicle 600 moves to a target point.

The control unit 650 is a control means such as a microprocessor, andmay control various components included in the autonomous vehicle 600.The control unit 650 may receive the delivery information from thecontrol server 400 using the first communication module 631 and store itin the storage unit 620. The control unit 650 may check the unloadingposition and control the driving unit 640 to move to the unloadingposition. The control unit 650 may control the driving unit 640 so thatthe autonomous vehicle 600 can move to a delivery destination. That is,the control unit 650 may control the driving unit 640 so that theautonomous vehicle 600 autonomously drives to the delivery destinationafter taking over the goods from the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 at theunloading position.

The control unit 650 may recognize the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 fortaking over the goods 10 when the movement to the goods handing overpoint is completed. In one embodiment, the control unit 650 may receivein advance the identification information of the unmanned aerial vehicle100 for unloading goods from the control server 400 using the firstcommunication module 631 and store it in the storage unit 620. If theidentification information received through the second communicationmodule 632 matches the identification information stored in the storageunit 620, it may be determined that the unmanned aerial vehicle 100 fortaking over the goods 10 is recognized. As another embodiment, thecontrol unit 650 may photograph the surroundings using a camera includedin the sensing unit 610, and analyze the photographed image to recognizethe unmanned aerial vehicle 100 existing in the vicinity. In oneembodiment, the control unit 650 may form a short-range wireless sessionwith the recognized unmanned aerial vehicle 100 using the secondcommunication module 632, and receive various data required for deliveryand unloading of goods from the unmanned aerial vehicle 100. In anotherembodiment, the control unit 650 may receive the unloading position ofthe goods 10 that are unloaded on the ground or platform using thewireless communication unit 630.

The control unit 650 may identify a supported portion of the goods 10 tobe supported by the autonomous vehicle 600 and control the driving unit640 to move the autonomous vehicle 600 to a position corresponding tothe supported portion. In an embodiment, the autonomous vehicle 600 mayreceive the supported portion from the master vehicle or the controlserver 400, or may determine the supported portion by itself based onthe size of the goods 10. In addition, the control unit 650 may controlthe autonomous vehicle 600 to load the goods together with the otherautonomous vehicle as the supported portion of the goods 10 is seated inthe goods loading unit, and control the driving unit 640 to deliver theloaded goods 10 to the destination by collaboration of the autonomousvehicle 600 and the other autonomous vehicle. The control unit 650 maymeasure the current position of the autonomous vehicle 600 using thesatellite signal receiving unit 660, generate a delivery route from thecurrent position to the destination (i.e., delivery destination), andcontrol the driving unit 640 to move to the destination based on thedelivery route.

In one embodiment, the control unit 650 determines the gradient on thedelivery route, and when the gradient exceeds a threshold value, thecontrol unit 640 may control the driving unit 640 to reduce the speed ofthe autonomous vehicle 600, and transmit a message requesting a speedreduction to other autonomous vehicles using the second communicationmodule 632. The control unit 650 may determine the gradient from thecurrent position to a point corresponding to a predetermined distance.The control unit 650 may determine the gradient by using the topographicgradient data included in the 3D map data stored in the storage unit620, or determine the gradient based on the gradient sensing dataacquired through the sensing unit 610.

As shown in FIG. 8, the goods loading unit may be raised or lowered.When the lifter 511 capable of raising and lowering is included in thegoods loading unit 510, the control unit 650 may load the supportedportion of the goods 10 seated on the ground or platform onto the lifter511 to raise it to a predetermined height. In this case, the controlunit 650 may control the hydraulic pressure supplied to the hydrauliccylinder 512 to raise the lifter 511.

As described above with reference to FIG. 12, the control unit 650determines a difference in elevation between the ground, on which theother autonomous vehicle is located, and the ground, on which theautonomous vehicle 600 is located, and if the autonomous vehicle 600 islocated on a lower ground than the other autonomous vehicle, it mayraise the lifter 511 to maintain the equilibrium of the goods 10.Alternatively, the control unit 650 may lower the lifter 511 to maintainthe equilibrium of the goods 10 if the autonomous vehicle 600 is locatedon a higher ground than other autonomous vehicle.

The technical features of the present disclosure described so far may beembodied as computer readable codes on a computer readable medium. Thecomputer readable medium may be, for example, a removable recordingmedium (CD, DVD, Blu-ray disc, USB storage device, removable hard disk)or a fixed recording medium (ROM, RAM, computer equipped hard disk). Thecomputer program recorded on the computer readable medium may betransmitted to other computing device via a network such as internet andinstalled in the other computing device, thereby being used in the othercomputing device.

In the above description, it is described that all the componentsconstituting the embodiments of the present disclosure are combined oroperated as one, but the technical features of the present disclosureare not limited to these embodiments. That is, within the scope of thepresent disclosure, all of the components may be selectively combinedand operated in one or more combinations.

Although the operations are shown in a specific order in the drawings,those skilled in the art will appreciate that many variations andmodifications can be made to the embodiments without substantiallydeparting from the principles of the present disclosure. Therefore, thedisclosed preferred embodiments of the disclosure are used in a genericand descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. The scopeof protection of the present disclosure should be interpreted by thefollowing claims, and all technical ideas within the scope equivalentthereto should be construed as being included in the scope of thetechnical idea defined by the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for delivering goods in collaboration ofa plurality of autonomous vehicles including a master vehicle and one ormore slave vehicles, the method comprising: calculating, by the mastervehicle among the plurality of autonomous vehicles, a floor arearequired for unloading the goods based on a size of the goods; searchingand determining, by the master vehicle, a region providing a flat areagreater than or equal to the floor area as a goods handing over point;providing, by the master vehicle, position information of the goodshanding over point to the one or more slave vehicles so that the one ormore slave vehicles are gathered to the goods handing over point;providing, by the master vehicle, the position information of the goodshanding over point to an unmanned aerial vehicle so that the unmannedaerial vehicle moves to the goods handing over point; determining, bythe master vehicle, a portion of the goods to be supported by eachautonomous vehicle based on a size of delivery target goods; moving, byeach autonomous vehicle located at the goods handing over point, to aposition corresponding to the determined portion; taking over the goodsfrom the unmanned aerial vehicle and loading them together bycollaborating with each autonomous vehicle at the moved position; anddelivering the loaded goods to a destination by the plurality ofautonomous vehicles.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein moving, by eachautonomous vehicle, to a position corresponding to the determinedportion comprises: moving, by the slave vehicle, based on the positioninformation on the goods handing over point, wherein taking over thegoods and loading them together comprises: taking over the goods fromthe unmanned aerial vehicle at a position corresponding to thedetermined portion by each of the slave vehicle and the master vehicle.3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the portion of the goodsto be supported comprises: determining, by the master vehicle, a portionof the goods to be supported by each of the master vehicle and the slavevehicle based on a size of the goods; and providing, by the mastervehicle, position information on the portion of the goods to besupported by the slave vehicle to the slave vehicle.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the plurality of autonomous vehicles includes a liftercapable of raising and lowering, wherein delivering the loaded goodscomprises: loading the goods onto the lifter and raising them by eachautonomous vehicle.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein delivering theloaded goods comprises: determining a difference in elevation of aground, on which each of the autonomous vehicles is located, while theplurality of autonomous vehicles are moving; and raising the lifter byan autonomous vehicle located on a relatively low ground to maintainequilibrium of the goods, or lowering the lifter by an autonomousvehicle located on a relatively high ground to maintain equilibrium ofthe goods.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the delivering the loadedgoods comprises: determining a gradient on a delivery route by aforefront autonomous vehicle among the plurality of autonomous vehicles;and transmitting, by the forefront autonomous vehicle, a messagerequesting a speed reduction to remaining autonomous vehicles among theplurality of autonomous vehicles.
 7. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: determining, by the master vehicle or a control server, thenumber of the plurality of autonomous vehicles based on at least one ofa size, a shape, and a weight of the goods.
 8. An autonomous vehicle,comprising: a driving unit for moving the autonomous vehicle; a goodsloading unit, in which goods took over from an unmanned aerial vehicleare seated; and a control unit, wherein the control unit; calculates afloor area required for unloading the goods based on a size of thegoods, searches and determines a region providing a flat area greaterthan or equal to the floor area as a goods handing over point, controlsto provide position information of the goods handing over point to oneor more other autonomous vehicles so that the one or more otherautonomous vehicles are gathered to the goods handing over point,controls to provide the position information of the goods handing overpoint to the unmanned aerial vehicle so that the unmanned aerial vehiclemoves to the goods handing over point, determines a portion of the goodsto be supported by the one or more other autonomous vehicles and theautonomous vehicle based on a size of the goods, controls to provideinformation on the determined portion to the one or more otherautonomous vehicles so that the other autonomous vehicle located at thegoods handing over point moves to a position corresponding to thedetermined portion, controls the driving unit to move the autonomousvehicle to a portion of the goods to be supported by the autonomousvehicle, and then controls the autonomous vehicle to collaborate withthe one or more other autonomous vehicles at the moved position to takeover the goods from the unmanned aerial vehicle to load them in thegoods loading unit, and controls the autonomous vehicle to collaboratewith the one or more other autonomous vehicles to deliver the loadedgoods to a destination.
 9. The autonomous vehicle of claim 8, whereinthe goods loading unit includes a lifter capable of raising andlowering, and wherein the control unit loads the supported portion ofthe goods in the lifter and raises it to a predetermined height.
 10. Theautonomous vehicle of claim 9, wherein the control unit: determines adifference in elevation between a ground, on which the other autonomousvehicle is located, and a ground, on which the autonomous vehicle islocated; and raises the lifter if the autonomous vehicle is located on alower ground than the other autonomous vehicle, or lowers the lifter ifthe autonomous vehicle is located on a higher ground than the otherautonomous vehicle.
 11. The autonomous vehicle of claim 8, wherein thecontrol unit determines a gradient on a delivery route, and transmits amessage requesting a speed reduction to the other autonomous vehiclewhen the gradient exceeds a threshold value.